Nick Roberts' Flying Diary

[Nick Roberts]

26/09/06 - Merthyr

Seemed to be my lucky day!  Arrived at the hill to see a few already flying and Chris, Steve J and a few others going over the back.  Took off at 13:30 just as the cloudstreets were setting up! .  After a nice steady 2.5 - 3m per sec climbout to cloudbase at 3600' , I minced along under the clouds in mainly weak lift maintaining a decent altitude until clearing the high ground.  Out over the flats near Usk,  the going was very weak but I managed to mince along to Raglan where I connected with a long street running as far as I could see back to the west.  Climbing to 4600',  I cruised along the street until it petered out over the Wye valley.  Getting low over the Forest of Dean was patently not a good idea so I broke off and glided towards Lydney where I knew I could get a train back to Merthyr via Cardiff. Landed 16;10 with 62.5km.  Returned by train and bumped into Carl from the  SEW club who kindly gave me a lift up ther hill to the car.   

 I've posted a couple of pics in the gallery

[Nick Roberts]

14/08/06  :  Arrived at Rhiw Wen with Steve to find a healthy breeze.  However, the wind dropped as we got ready.  Launched anyway, hoping for the best but went down to the bottom.  Returned to the carpark in time to see Neil take off and waft around for a while so we just had to give it another go.  Almost too windy but quite thermic albeit with a low cloudbase(2500') and rather a lot of cloud cover.  Decided to attempt the 5km run to Tair Carn Isaf which turned out ok - even got to cloudbase for a while.  Spotted a paraglider bag in a hollow on the return leg - Steve had stashed his gear and returned on foot to get the car.  So a nice flight after all but an incursion by the RAF reminded us that we had not used the freephone service!   

Apologies to Marcus for predicting that it wasn't going to be any good!

[Nick Roberts]

08/08/06 - Merthyr

Arrived just as the Sigma 6 Troupe  of Chris, Neil, Gareth and Ivor were leaving in a gaggle.  Launched at 13:40 with Steve and flew to the south to try and connect with some broken convergence cloud.  Got there eventually and left the hill after a mini triangle with about 4000'.
Flew the right line to the edge of the valleys, staying above 3000' all the way.  However, evidently, as Chris and Neil demonstrated,  I should've pushed northeast but was distracted by sailplanes circling east of Usk. Got low and landed at 16:20 and 60km(well 59.5 really) in a field just before the Wye Valley.  Nice cup of tea and a lift in to Monmouth from a local resident.  Many thanks to Steve for the retrieve.  Seems like a good time was had by all......except for Max and his impromptu S.I.V. course at Tal y Bont!b

[Nick Roberts]

Thought it was going to be blown out today but up at Heol Senni : not so....
Arrived at 14:00 with Steve J to find nice conditions and the wind on the hill.
Left the hill more or less straightaway and wispy bits of cloud pointed the way in a good NNE drift. Cloudbase 4700' near Seven Sisters but lots of claggy cloud much lower down near the coast.  Superb visibility looking back inland - forgot my camera - drat!
Landed on the old BP sportsfield at Baglan Bay.  36km - not enough to score for me in the XC league but a very nice flight.   

[Nick Roberts]

11/07/06  Merthyr - Joined Chris, Steve and Tom at takeoff along with a host of other pilots in the BPC comp.  Wind eased just as I got there(13:30) and people started to launch. Seemed like a good idea to try and follow the task(SWWSC not competing).  Only weak thermals on the hill and people left in dribs and drabs with not much height.  I bided my time to see if things would improve - they did!(not that I knew it when I left the hill at about 4pm!).  Found a nice climb at Abertysswg and flew very patiently thereafter in the weak thermals with base a little over 4000'.

Flew on to land near Lydney at just before 7pm with 62km.  A very nice flight!  



The retrieve worked out ok.......in the end!

Sorry Tom, we must try and be a little more organised and coordinated in future!

[Nick Roberts]

Saturday July 1st.



Quite windy from the southeast so went round to Bryncaws after work.  Pleasantly suprised to see so many people on the hill.  Flew for 1 hour in windy conditions and a slightly thundery looking sky.  Landed for a chat with Jon, Humphrey, Sheryl and a few others.  Flew again after 16:00 but wind as strong as ever(not dropping as per forecast!) so called it a day.

[Nick Roberts]

Friday June 29th  Nant y Moel



"Cloud cover moving in from the west" said the weatherman; so I headed east to Nant y Moel.  Sky looked good when I arrived but quickly clouded over.  Still, it was flyable, so we flew - Gareth, Ivor, Steve Watkins, myself and a few others.  Windy, quite buoyant but not XC'able.  Cloud melted away after 16:00 and nice cumuli formed everywhere about an hour later..... everywhere that is;except the Nant y Moel area.....some days!  Still, it was nice to see Steve Watkins getting so much airtime.  Well done Steve!  

[Nick Roberts]

Thursday June 29th   Tal y Bont



Arrived in time to see gliders taking off.  Walked up nearside to save time and sweat but underestimated the wind strength  which blasted the thermals around the hill.  Had to fly down, land, pack away and walk up the sweaty side - not my day perhaps methinks, but then again....taking off later proved to be more favourable!.  After leaving the hill with my second thermal and in the company of a chap named Steve Lowe on a Gin Zoom,  I maintained my height and floated over the high ground between Brecon and Builth where the earlier gaggle of Steve P, Chris et all had struggled and gone down.  Went on to pass Builth and Llandrindod, landing at Llanbadarn Fynydd at 17:15 with 63km.  Should've gone further really as there was still a good hour left in the day albeit weakening.  Still, a very nice flight after getting away from the windy Tal y Bont.  

[Nick Roberts]

June 28th   Cwmafan



15 minutes of seebreeze crap!  

[Nick Roberts]

Thursday June 8th.



A classic day at Tal y Bont.  Tom and I arrived at 14:30 to find the place deserted?



Took off at 15:15 and climbed out straightaway, drifting towards Pen y Fan.  Some large areas of shade but super thermals in the sun.  Enjoyed a good tour of the local area and landed 2 hours later having bagged myself my first UK FAI triangle(60 points for the XC league!). Also, good practice for Tom in the light wind conditions.    

[Nick Roberts]

Tuesday June 6th.



A rather bizarre day at Fan G.  It didn't look very good but became suprisingly lifty in the evening.  Lifty enough for me to fly a flat triangle in the evening.  Landed in the layby at 19:15(see next Hot Air for full report.

[Nick Roberts]

Nice light thermic conditions at Heol Senni.  A good drift aloft to second thermal near Fan G then a good drilling in sink all the way down to Coelbren. Found a good save which turned into the sweetest climb I've experienced so far this year - 3m per sec all the way to nearly 6000'.  Boxed in by the seabreeze after that though.  

[Nick Roberts]

A good club day out at Llandewi Brefi.  A tad breezy but everybody flew and most left the hill at some point.  Excellent conditions initially but too much cloud around the Llandovery area choked what might have been a big distance day.  Well done to Tom G for shedding his red streamer and venturing away from the hill on his first flight with an alti/vario.

[Nick Roberts]

Sun came out this afternoon.  Got a call from Steve J who was up on Mynydd Dinas.  Steve had already been flying for one hour by the time that I arrived.  I took off at 15:20 and found the air very buoyant with some thermic activity.  Later, the wind freshened as a cloudsheet came over and killed the thermals but I was able to cruise back and fore at 1400' amsl in dynamic lift - that's on a par with Rhossili!

[Nick Roberts]

07/05/06 - Went up to Tal y Bont in the afternoon.  Not expecting too much but arrived to find nicely thermic conditions.  Met up with Gareth and Ivor. Launched at 14:15: went straight to the bottom of the hill!  Launched again at 15:15 and climbed to over 5000' in overcast conditions.  Went XC across the beacons. The sun came out to spark the thermals into life.  Stopped at Fan G with a view to flying an out and return but with a headwind to combat on the return, decided to carry on.  Good conditions as far as Usk reservoir but cloud spreadout thereafter.

Landed in a field just past Llangadog at 17:15 with 47km via a few turnpoints.